Olmert to Zubari: Your Olympic win brings tears of joy to Israel

Israeli windsurfer Shahar Zubari won a bronze medal on Wednesday as he sailed his final race in the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. It was Israel's first medal of the Beijing games, and its seventh of all time. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called Zubari after the race to congratulate him on his win. "I couldn't help but be impressed by your coolness, that soulful silence of yours, and the inner feelings that caused you to secure us a medal," Olmert said. "You have no idea how exciting it was when I saw you waving that flag. Know that you have brought many tears of joy to Israel," he added.
The pressure was high as Zubari, who until Wednesday held fourth place in the the Neil Pryde RS:X windsurfing standings, began his final round. The race got off to a rocky start for Zubari, who fumbled as he pulled out and tried to begin again. While this delayed his entry, Zubari later explained that he had done so to ensure a better sail. "By the first drift I could already see it was possible and I did it," Zubari said. He quickly closed in on the gap and moved closer to the leading group. At a certain point, he took off alone again, leaving the group to fight it out amongst themselves, with hopes of circumventing them at a distance. He finished the round with 58 negative points, two less than Nick Dempsey, who came in fourth. New Zealander Tom Ashley won the gold for the event, with 52 negative points and France's Julien Bontemps scored the silver with a 53. On Tuesday, after finishing in fourth place in the 10th race, Zubari folded up his gear and got on his motorcycle to return to his hotel. "I don't have any special preparations for tomorrow," he said. "Just like any day, I'll rest, eat, take food supplements and I'll go to sleep around 11 or 12 P.M." He said the weather forescast was for light winds, but one could not count on the local weatherman. "We'll get up and take whatever wind needed to sail," he added, nonchalantly. Zubari's coolness was spilling over to others. "I don't know what will be tomorrow, but I do know one thing," said Rafa Balilius, his surfing trainer. "Shahar never finished in fourth. He's done it before where on the second to last day he was fourth and still won a medal." Zubari could have been in a better position ahead of Wednesday's medal round, but he didn't get off to a good start Tuesday.. He finally caught a good current and was in second place after the third buoy. However, things then went wrong when he got seaweed caught in his fin and then made a wrong call. He said after the race he wanted to get away from being behind China's Aichen Wang. "I moved right, which was a mistake - I should have stayed on his tail." France's Julien Bontemps took advantage of the miscue, taking third, good enough to lead the standings. Zubari had to settle for fourth. The young man from Eilat went into Wednesday's race knowing he would have to finish at least second and also beat Bontemps by at least five boats and his other two rivals by at least four boats to walk away with anything. Pole vaulter Alex Averbukh eliminated Pole vaulter Alex Averbukh was eliminated from the Olympic Games on Wednesday after failing to clear 5.65 meters. The pole vaulter had cleared 5.45 meters on his third try, and declined jumping the 5.55 out of strategic considerations. Averbukh is the senior athlete in Israel's delegation. Beijing is his third Olympics - he finished in eighth place in Athens. He also holds a silver and a bronze from previous world championships as well as a European gold. However, he was sidelined by injury for quite a while and has not been impressive this year. Only six of the other 40 competitors participating Wednesday have topped his personal best of 5.93 meters, an Israeli national record. But, if one looks at this year, when Averbukh barely competed, no fewer than 32 athletes have vaulted higher than the 5.55 meters he accomplished two months ago. "I believe I can make the final, but anything is possible on the day of competition," Averbukh said earlier this week. The pressure is on In recent days, hordes of Israelis - press, businessmen, VIPs and simple fans - have descended on the calm that is Qindao, home to the Olympic sailing races. Those disappointed with what they saw in Beijing have come to this vacation spot for a last chance to witness Israel winning a medal. And they're doing what Israelis do so well - adding to the pressure. It's also money time for Michael Kolganov, who has a crack at making the 500m kayak final, and Averbukh, who needs his rival to choke to have a chance in his final Olympic appearance.